The 2019 Tour des Trees will be on the road and rolling from September 16 to September 20, 2019. (Note: The mandatory opening check-in and dinner will be Sunday, September 15). This year’s tour will feature five days of riding beginning and ending in Nashville, Tennessee, with planned overnight stops in Bowling Green, Owensboro, Hopkinsville (all in Kentucky) and Clarksville, Tennessee. Daily mileage will range between 55 miles and 110 miles, with two anticipated century days. You can subscribe for real-time information on the 2019 route and ride here.

What is the Tour des Trees?

The Tour des Trees is an annual long-distance cycling adventure which serves as the primary public outreach and community engagement event for Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund). Since 1992 Tour riders have cycled through communities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., planting trees, educating children and shining a light on the work done by arboriculture professionals and the importance of science-based tree care.

The Tour des Trees serves to advance TREE Fund’s mission of supporting scientific discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in arboriculture and urban forestry. TREE Fund research has produced better ways to plant and care for urban trees, making them more resilient, more resistant to pests, and less prone to failure. The Tour also supports education programs aimed at connecting young people with the environment and career opportunities in green industries. TREE Fund has been able to disburse nearly $4.0 million in grant and scholarship funding since 2002, and the Tour des Trees has been a key component in the organization’s ongoing success.

Full-Tour cyclists commit to raising at least $3,500 for TREE Fund; part-time riders have reduced commitments. Event expenses are defrayed by TREE Fund’s generous partners, so 100% of the funds raised by riders can be applied to new grants, payments on multi-year grants awarded in prior years, or added to permanent endowment funds that will sustain research into the future.

The links below provide key information for riders, volunteers, donors, and those considering participating in or supporting the event. We hope to see you in person – or virtually – on the Tour this year!